[Horsegma]

I am on the hunt for a new trail horse.

I was pretty much only considering geldings to avoid any mareish issues that might come up.

But, I might be limiting some very good prospects.

If I can get the poll to work, I would like your opinions on mares vs. geldings.


Thanks

 

[ridergirl23]

i have a mare, i LOVE her, i learned to ride on a mare, when i was 6...she had no mare-ish isues. i understand if you prefer geldings, but i wouldnt turn down a good horse, even if it was a stud...a good horse is a horse. no matter what sex.

 

[thunderhooves]

All horses sometimes have issues, and yourr poll doesnt have very good choices. I agree with ridergirl, minus the stud part,lol.

 

[Horsegma]

All horses sometimes have issues, and yourr poll doesnt have very good choices. I agree with ridergirl, minus the stud part,lol.

My choices were exactly what I want to know.

 

[lacyloo]

I tend to believe people will blame their horse's behavior on being a "moody mare" or "shes in heat" to avoid admitting that their horse has problems.
So iv never noticed a difference with riding my mares VS geldings.

 

[thunderhooves]

My choices were exactly what I want to know.

But none were what i would answer with. A good horse is a good horse, and every horse(and human) have off days. It really depends on the mare. Some are known(on their "days") to be horrible, some like everything is normal(no grouchiness)
Really, if you see a good mare or gelding(sometimes stud), and you try them out and like them, then go for it. Like I said, they will have their off days.
And Good Luck!

 

[jesredneck98]

I think its hard when you limit yourself to a certian sex but I know how that mindset happens. But I think that if you try to look at a bunch of different horses no matter what sex you may end up finding a great gelding or mare. Try to keep the best open mind that you can. I think for everyone who loves mares there is someone who doesn't want a mare. That goes for geldings as well. A great horse is a great horse no matter what it is. Good luck!

 

[Marrissa]

I've never had a mare myself. The three horses I've had have all been geldings. I dunno I just tend to click with the boys better. I've known a lot of cranky mares and love my mom's cranky old mare. I wouldn't ever limit myself to one sex of horse though. My next horse I'm planning on a Warmblood mare (so I can breed my own warmbloods instead of paying 10k+ for each one).

 

[reining girl]

I never had a issue with my mare, she acted like a gelding i could never even tell when she was in heat, and she was penned wiht a gelding. Dont just count a mare out because one person said "o my mare is ****y, or my mare did this or that bla bla bla" not all mares are like that, most arent. My mom never wanted me to get a mare because she just heard "stories" on how they were. I got my mare duchess (well sold her now because she was green broke), and now my mom loves mares. Dont let one persons "storie" ruin mares for you.

 

[TwisterRush]

my dad currently has a mare, whom is head shy and does have alot of issues, not on her mareish day's
She has no respect for alot of people, and wasnt in my opinion broke properly, i honestly dont like her *Pepper* ( we will be re-training her, she is only 3, 'broken in' at 2
But i have gotten myself a project mare, so i hope that will go well.
I have had a mare before as a lesson horse, who we had our days lol! but i absolutely loved her.

I think it really does depend on their personal personality.

 

[1dog3cats17rodents]

It's really a case by case basis. Yes. *in general* geldings are laid back, but my gelding was the ****iest thing I ever met, and some of the mares in our barn have personalities to die for. I didn't vote (not really good options), but don't limit yourself. Go see the horse you are interested and ignore gender.

 

[PaintHorseMares]

I tend to believe people will blame their horse's behavior on being a "moody mare" or "shes in heat" to avoid admitting that their horse has problems.
So iv never noticed a difference with riding my mares VS geldings.

I agree...and even more, they blame any behavior they don't like on being a mare.

We have 3 mares, 5 to 15 yrs, great trail horses, and have never had any 'mare problems'.

 

[Horsegma]

I myself have a mare and two geldings. In all the years I have had her, I never knew when she was in heat.

But, like a few of you have mentioned, I have heard "stories" of having mares that became different during that time. Enough rumors that it makes me a bit apprhensive that I may get "one of those".

I have a riding buddy who used that excuse about her mares. In fact, her horse was in heat every other week according to her! LOL, we all know that it was a training issue cause I never saw where her horse was in heat.

I thought this could give me a pretty good idea of what the majority of mare owners have experienced.

I've asked this because there is a mare who qualifies for everything on my list, but, "the dreaded stories" keep flashing in my mind. I have only been answering ads for geldings and inquired about one for sale. That one sold but she has this mare............

And then I have to think about what it could be like if I brought another mare into the herd. I am rehoming one of my geldings and the dynamics will change to 2 mares and a gelding.

Also, after I posted this I saw there was a mare vs gelding post and read that with interest.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[horseluver250]

I have only had issues with 2 out of the 7 mares I have owned. I had a paint mare as a teen that would actually mount our geldings when she was in heat. With my current paint mare EVERYONE knows when she is in heat, she whinnies and squeels at anything that moves and makes the barnyard choas! hmm... maybe its a paint mare thing :wink: On the other hand, fiance's gelding is probably crankier than any mare I have known though (we usually refer to the horse as his filly), so I can't really discriminate by sex.
I think it would really depend on each individual mare (or gelding) though.

 

[MN Tigerstripes]

Never had a problem with a mare. Beyond "normal" horse problems. I had two growing up and you couldn't ever tell when they were cycling. I don't think the "mare-ish" attitude related to cycling is very common. It's more of an excuse for people to use when they're having problems with their horse and they don't want to or know how to get rid of the behavior. JMO

 

[kevinshorses]

When I was growing up we had both mares and geldings. We penned them together and never had any issues. When I got older the whole issue of marish attitudes and the preference of geldings to mares made me wonder a little. If I were looking to buy a horse I would buy a sorrel mare. With the market the way it is you will get 5 times the horse ina sorrel mare as you would a buckskin gelding. If you pay a thousand dollars for the mare she will be safe to ride, gentle and sound. A thousand dollar buckskin gelding probably won't be safe, gentle or sound.

 

[Cheshire]

One should try to avoid stuffing horses into pigeonholes based off gender alone. I have met some incredibly ****y geldings in my time. Only known one "mareish" mare, and she was more or less that way constantly. That was more of a lack of training/handling though. I agree that for some people, whining about their girl's menses-related woes is just an excuse for ____(insert something they either are or are not doing here)____.

Lilly was in heat when we went out to see her...and she was an absolute charm for two complete strangers hopping on her back and making her work while the rest of the horses there were already enjoying dinner, while she was most definitely not.

 

[CowgirlShay]

I never had any "mare-ish" problems either. the ranch i go to is basically all mares except for a stallion for breeding and 2 geldings

all the mares don't act up when their in season and i have a mare who is practically genderless....

plus the 2 geldings seriously have the worst personalities and traits ever soooo ya
don't get me wrong or anything i've met geldings that are wonderful and stuff but it doesn't really matter what gender, it's pretty much the personality

 

[Horsegma]

All that's been said is kind of what I was thinking/hoping for.

My search has increased from 50% to 100%. Now I just have to weed out the ones I won't be a match to.

Thanks.

And, it's official, we just re~homed one of my geldings this morning. I tell ya, this has been THE most painful thing I have ever voluntarily done in my whole life! Thank goodness the people who took him are equal to their horsekeeping ways as I am, and they are only a half hour away and have invited us to come see/ride him anytime. Still painful.

 

[Jessabel]

Mares generally have a reputation for being a little ****y, but it really depends on the individual. I know a mare who is the sweetest, friendliest thing until you try to put her in the trailer. She rears up and tries to come down on you if you try and coerce her into the metal cave of death. :wink:

Some mares get moody when they're in heat, and others don't. I know a lot of fantastic mares, and that's saying something because I'm a gelding person.